Gold tier cover is the highest level of private health insurance available.
The cheapest gold policy on Finder starts at around $56 per week.
Waiting periods will apply to your gold coverage, it's good to be mindful of this when buying.
*Prices are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income, $750 excess and living in Sydney.
What does gold hospital insurance cover?
Gold-tier hospital insurance covers all 38 treatments outlined by the Australian government. This includes treatments like joint replacements, pregnancy, insulin pumps, as well as all services covered by Silver-tier policies. See below for a comprehensive list.
Side by side: health insurance tiers
There are 4 tiers of private health insurance; basic, bronze, silver and gold. As you might assume, each level refers to how many treatments are covered with basic being at the thinner end of coverage and gold being the most comprehensive cover available.
Clinical Category
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Basic
Rehabilitation
R
R
R
Hospital psychiatric services
R
R
R
Palliative Care
R
R
R
Brain and nervous system
O (R)
Eye (not cataracts)
O (R)
Ear, nose and throat
O (R)
Tonsils, adenoids and grommets
O (R)
Bone, joint and muscle
O (R)
Joint reconstructions
O (R)
Kidney and bladder
O (R)
Male reproductive system
O (R)
Digestive system
O (R)
Hernia and appendix
O (R)
Gastrointestinal endoscopy
O (R)
Gynaecology
O (R)
Miscarriage and termination of pregnancy
O (R)
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy for cancer
O (R)
Pain Management
O (R)
Skin
O (R)
Breast surgery (medically necessary)
O (R)
Diabetes management (excluding insulin pumps)
O (R)
Heart and vascular system
O
O (R)
Lung and chest
O
O (R)
Blood
O
O (R)
Back, neck and spine
O
O (R)
Plastic and reconstructive surgery (medically necessary)
O
O (R)
Dental Sugery
O
O (R)
Podiatric surgery (provided by a registered podiatric surgeon)
O
O (R)
Implantation of hearing devices
O
O (R)
Cataracts
O
O
O (R)
Joint replacements
O
O
O (R)
Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
O
O
O (R)
Pregnancy and birth
O
O
O (R)
Assisted reproductive services
O
O
O (R)
Weight loss surgery
O
O
O (R)
Insulin pumps
O
O
O (R)
Pain management with device
O
O
O (R)
Sleep studies
O
O
O (R)
Indicates the clinical category is a minimum requirement of the product tier.
(R)
Restricted cover permitted: insurers are allowed to offer cover for this clinical category on a restricted basis. A restricted benefit means you are partially covered for hospital costs as a private patient in a public hospital. You may incur significant expenses in a private room or private hospital so you should check with your insurer and hospital for details.
O
Optional for the insurer to include: insurers may choose to offer these as additional clinical categories.
How much does gold health insurance cost?
The cost of health insurance will vary based on your state, age, income and more. It'll also change based on whether you're buying hospital cover on its own or with an extras policy.
To give you an idea of costs, we've gotten the average monthly cost for gold hospital cover and broken it down per state. These costs are based on a single individual with less than $97,000 income with a $750 excess.
Average monthly premium
NSW
$257.29
QLD
$273.47
VIC
$281.64
TAS
$2498
SA
$234.29
NT
$155.97
WA
$221.82
These average prices are updated as of March 2025, in line with Finder's database of health insurance policies.
Understanding waiting periods
Waiting periods refer to the time between when you take out a policy and the time when you're able to claim on that policy. This is relevant to those who are taking out a policy for the first time and those who have increased their cover level, say, from silver to gold.
The government sets the maximum waiting periods for all services. They are:
In some special circumstances, you can access mental health treatment in a hospital without having to serve the waiting period.
For extras policies, insurers can set their own waiting periods.
Pros and cons of gold health insurance
Pros
Comprehensive cover for treatment in a private hospital.
The only tier to include coverage for pregnancy and childbirth.
Covers rehabilitation, hospital psychiatric services and palliative care.
Cons
Gold cover is expensive, often costing well in excess of $160 per month.
If you don't need cover for a service like pregnancy, a gold policy will still charge and cover you for it. Gold cover is often more coverage than people need.
Doesn't cover outpatient services without additional extras cover.
"I got Medibank Gold Hospital health insurance so I was covered for obstetrics. Providing my healthcare details to the private hospital was really easy and Medibank called me via their concierge service as I was approaching my due date to answer any questions I might have. Best of all, my baby was covered under the same policy from birth, which meant that the unexpected ambulance transfer across the city and specialist tests for him were also covered. Overall, it was a good experience and I plan to stay with Medibank for any subsequent pregnancies. "
Susannah Binsted
Finder crew member
Who is gold health insurance best for?
People starting a family
If you're starting a family and want to have access to a private room during childbirth, you're going to want a gold hospital policy. Benefits only available on gold policies include:
Getting older means you're more susceptible to certain conditions – gold coverage includes a range of treatments that are especially useful to older Australians. A few examples that are helpful for seniors include:
Cataracts
Joint replacements
People with complex needs
There are many other treatments only covered under gold-tier health insurance policies which may be essential for some people. Here are a few gold treatments that could apply to you:
Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
Weight loss surgery
Insulin pumps
Pain management with device
Sleep studies
FAQs
St. Lukes won the 2024 gold hospital finder award, with Health Partners and hbf as the runners up. It's important to note here that there is no universal 'best' because your needs can differ a lot to someone else's. Additionally, your pricing will differ and this could change your idea of who is 'best'.
The cheapest gold hospital policies start at around $55 a week. Prices do go up on April 1st every year and every fund prices things differently, so you'll need to compare policies to make sure you get the right policy for you.
In Australia, there are 4 different tiers for hospital cover: Basic, bronze, silver and gold. Policies at each tier level are required to cover a standard set of treatments. Each tier covers everything in the lower tiers, plus several more treatments.
A gold hospital policy will cover all of the 38 standard hospital treatments set out by the government. This includes treatments like pregnancy and birth, joint replacements, assisted reproductive services, weight loss surgery, insulin pumps and cataracts.
All hospital insurance in Australia is required to provide cover for pre-existing conditions. However, there is a 12-month waiting period before you can make a claim for a pre-condition.
A seasoned journalist with over 10 years of experience in news, politics and finance reporting, Tim has previously held roles at the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Media. Tim’s expert insights have been quoted in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. He regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been interviewed on 7 News, Sunrise, SBS News, ABC Local, 3AW and 5AA. Tim is passionate about simplifying complex insurance topics for Australian consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from Macquarie University and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
If you’re interested in a media interview with Tim, please reach out to our PR team at aupr@finder.com. See full bio
Tim's expertise
Tim has written 149 Finder guides across topics including:
Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio
Insulin pumps are covered under all gold hospital policies, as well as on some Silver Plus policies. The details do differ between funds, however.
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